John 5:47

But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

World English Bible
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Other translations

WEBBE

But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

BSB

But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

KJV

But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

ASV

But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

BBE

If you have no belief in his writings, how will you have belief in my words?

Original Greek

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The early church

All 6
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words.
Augustine of Hippo · d. 430Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)
From this we may infer too, that he who knows the commandments against stealing, and other crimes, and neglects them, will never fulfil the more perfect and refined precepts of the Gospel.
Alcuin of York · d. 804Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)
As if He said, He has even written, and has left his books among you, as a constant memento to you, lest you forget His words. And since you believe not his writings, how can ye believe My unwritten words?
Theophylact of Ohrid · d. 1107Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)
"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?" What He saith is of this kind: "It is Moses who has been insulted more than I by your conduct towards Me, for ye have disbelieved him rather than Me." See how in every way He hath cast them out from all excuse. "Ye said that ye loved God when ye persecuted Me; I have shown that ye did so from hatred of Him: ye say that I break the Sabbath and annul the Law; I have rid Me of this slander also: ye maintain that ye believe in Moses by what ye dare to do against Me; I on the contrary show that this is most to disbelieve in Moses; for so far am I from opposing the Law, that he who shall accuse you is none other than the man who gave you the Law." As then He said of the Scriptures, in which "ye think ye have eternal life," so of Moses also He saith, "in whom ye trust"; everywhere conquering them by their own weapons.
John Chrysostom · d. 407Homilies on John
That the Scriptures testified of Him He declared, but where they testify He added not; desiring to inspire them with greater awe, and to prompt them to search, and to reduce them to the necessity of questioning. For had He told them readily and without their questioning, they would have rejected the testimony; but now, if they gave any heed to His words, they needed first of all to ask, and learn from Him what that testimony was. On this account He dealeth the more largely in assertions and threats, not in proofs only, that even so He may bring them over by fear of what He saith; but they even so were silent. Such a thing is wickedness; whatsoever a man say or do it is not stirred to move, but remaineth keeping its peculiar venom.
John Chrysostom · d. 407Homilies on John

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 45–47

Many trust in some form of doctrines or some parties, who no more enter into the real meaning of those doctrines, or the views of the persons whose names they bear, than the Jews did into those of Moses. Let us search and pray over the Scriptures, as intent on finding eternal life; let us observe how Christ is the great subject of them, and daily apply to him for the life he bestows.

Read Matthew Henry on John 5 →

Cross-references

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Topics

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.